Dish rack



Aug. 6, 1935. c. c. PARKER 2,010,734

DISH RACK Filed July' 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aus- 6, 1935. QC. PARKER 2,010,734

l DISH RACK I Filed July 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JMW@ Panarea Aug. s, 1935 UNlTEn-fsrATl-:s

This invention relates-.to a dish rack for supporting and storing dishes when not in use,

The storage of dishes, such as plates, saucers.4

soup plates and other relatively shallow dishes of this general character, in the usual manner in stacks results in considerable inconvenience, as

when it is desired to remove a dish from the lower vpart of a stack, all the dishes above must rst y be removed. Also in practice it has been found that, owing to the presence of a more or less rough bead or rimcupon the bottoms of many dishes, the upper surfaces of the dishes engaged by such roughened parts become marred or dull as the result of. minute scratches. `|I'his effect will even take place when dishes are not used for long periods of time, due to the vibration of houses or buildings from the passing of trains. trucks and other causes acting to shift the dishes slightly one upon another.

Some objects of this invention are to provide .a novel and desirable dish rack on-Which vdishes of thecharacter stated may be supported on edge .in compacter closely spaced but out-of-contact relation; .upon which dishes may be placed .or from which they may be removed with facility and Without danger. of breaking the edges of` dishes, d ue to binding or` sudden or too forcible contact; yupon which dishes may be placed on or removed without objectionable noise due to engagement of the dishes therewith; in which the edges of the dishes engage with a-resllient cushion and in which the marginal 4or edge portions of the dishes are engaged and the dishes` separated or spaced by resilient or yielding vparts or projections; and inwhich such yielding parts can flex or be deflected when engaged by dishes the 4contour of which is greater than the normal space provided for each dish.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a dish rack of compact construction and attractive appearance, which is of light weight and which can be manufactured at low cost; which is readily portable, upon which whenplaced thereon, the dishes will have a tendency to be retained in proper relation to the rackby an edgewise rolling action as the. result of gravity; which can be formed in part of sheet metal; and in which the dishes are prevented from contacting with the metal parts of the rack both lwhen placing them into position and whilein supported position on the rack. g

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, and the novel features thereof will. )be

pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: l

Fig. 1 is a face view of novel 'dish rack.

Fig. 2. is an end Velevation thereof, on -an-zenlarged scale, showing dishes'of varyingform and size in position thereon. i Y

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical section thereof, taken approximately on the line 3-4, Fig.'2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, horizontal thereof, taken on line 4 4, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical cross section thereof, on a still larger scale, lof a portion of a dish-rack of slightly modified form.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a dish rack` of an- 15 other modified form. y

Fig. 7 is a vertical section thereof, on line 1 1,` Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a similar fragmentary view showing modified means for attaching the'resilient strips 20 orsheets to the wall members of 'the dish rack. i In generaLmy invention consists' in providing two groups or sets A and B of spaced yielding or `resilient projections or` elements suitably supsection 10 ported or mounted so that such groups o f ele-' 25 mentsl are disposed in Vmutually facing angular relation. Dishes may thus be supported on the dish rack upon edge with a marginal portion of each dish engaging between the elements of one group and another marginal portion engaging 30 between the elements of the other group.

In the embodiment which I have chosen illustrate my invention, the yielding proj tions or. elements are arranged in the form of parallel ribs, one groupA having such projections III/extending approximately horizontally from `the front towards the rear of the rack, and the other group B of such elements comprising a similar series of ribs or elements Il whichy are disposed in upright position at the back of the rack. The 40- ribs Il are spaced similarly tothe ribs il and are disposed in `alinement therewith, therebyproviding mutually facing channelsl or grooves l2 and I3 respectively in which spaced marginal or edge portions of dishes may be inserted so that the dishes may stand upright on edge extending cros'swise of the rack.

The projections or ribs I I and Il are formedA of suitable yielding or resilient material, auch.V as fairly sti or rm rubber orxthe like. These 50 parts are maintained in proper. spaced, .parallel relation in any suitable way, a practical and convenient. one being to form them integrally with or upon a sheet of rubber or material of the saineV character and texture of that of which Ni 2 f am the ribs are formed. For example, the ribs lo in the construction illustrated are formed on and extend' away from a at sheet of rubber or the like I5, while .the ribs il arev formed on and extend from a corresponding or sinilar sheet of rubber or material IS. A

By forming these parts in this way, the portions of the perimeters or outer edges of the plates or dishes .which engage in the channels l2 and la, rest directly against a soft, yielding cushion or support, while the ribs or projections ill and li forming the channelsl l2 and i3 respectively are. capable, by the character of the material of which they are formed, oi being latally deflected more orless, as shown clearly in Figs. 3 andfl, by the engagement therewith of the curved under faces of the margialfportions of the dishes which are received in the respective channels. That is to say, with relatively shallow dishes, such as plates, as illustrated at 28 in Fig. 3, the ribs of each channel which are adjacent to the under sfaces of each of theplates will be slightly deflected as shown, thus permitting the plates to Ibe closely arranged in adJavjust described, nevertheless permit the dishes to be engaged in adjacentchannels with the inner portions of the. dishes nesting one within ethe other. v

The groups or sets of projections lor ribs lil `and ll,-and the cushions or sheets l5 and i6 of yielding material on which they are formed or from which they extend, may be supported in the relativeangular arrangement described in any suitable manner.

In the construction illustrated in Figs'. 1 tb 4,

the resilient sheet lli of the group or set A isy secured, as by the use of rubber or metal cement, or other adhesive', upon the upper face of a base member which may be conveniently formed of a fiat plate of metal, while. the sheet IB 'of the vgroup B may be similarlyattached to an upright or upstanding iiat metal plate 28. If desired,

`the plates 25 and 26 may be formed from a singie piece of. sheet metal bent at 2l intoangu.- lariorm, thus forming a dlhedron upon which the projectionsl and I I are securedin mutually facing relation.

In order to retain thedlshesin properrelation upon the rack and prevent them from roll- -the supporting surface.

ing along the lower charmels l2 out of engage- 28 which is preferably turned upon itself as shown in Fig. 5, andthe lower edge of whichmayrest upon a supporting surface, thus tilting the base .membe`r`25 and the group of= projections A so that these parts incline rearwardly with thefdihedrall angle 21 of the rack alsovrlesting upon By this arrangement any jarring movement or vibrations imparted to'the dishrackwill act to keep the dishes in proper position on the rack,- since any movement imparted to thedishes from such causes will tend to make the dishes roll 'downwardly along the inclined channels ll towards the back membermof the rack. Thus the dishes ment in the upright channels l2. 1

It desired the upper horizontal edge of the back member 2d may be bent backwardly upon itself,as at 29, to givea more finished appear paint which'would be liable to be chipped oif,

in positioning the dishes on the rack.

Irr said Fig. 2, the resilient material on the base plate 25 is formed or provided with a niarginal strip or edge portion 30 which .may be carried down over the f. nt face of the flange will alwaysbe maintained in rm engage- 2B around the bottom e ge and iback upon the l rear face' thereof, where it may be suitably secured by adhesive or by other means.

It will be. noted that since the ribs or projections lt and ilv of the groups A and B are iorizned of yielding or resilient material they canl be made relatively'high or can project to a considerable extent to thereby provide relatively deep channels, thus providing a more /secure and definite seat or receiving groove for each dish.A Also,

since the ribs or projections can yield, as stated, i

the dishes may be positioned in, closely spaced relation regardless of their depth, while the edges of the dishes will at all times extendl to and rest against the yielding bottom walls of the channels.

Also, by making fthe ribs or projections of resilient material, breaking of the dishes is avoided when placing them on or taking them from the rack, as might be the case if projections formed oi rigid material were used such as metal or wood,. since in such case, unless the dishes were very carefully placed or removed, a lateral twisting or turning ,of the ldishes would be liable to result in breakin'gvthe edge `portions thereof.

A less expensive and somewhat. simpler way of mounting the two groups of ,resilient elementsy is illustrated in Figs. 6 and. 7.2 In this construction, I provide a somewhatI narrowerV base strip 4D -of rubber or the like having spaced yielding ribs or projections 4l preferably 'formed integrally therewith. This strip 40 ls lprovided at'y ltegral resilient hook or channel-like portions 42555 which ae engageable over the opposite end edges oi the base member .44. By making the distance between the bottoms oi' the twoA opposed channels slightly less thanthe distance between said end edges of the base member 44, the'rubber of thestrip will be stretched suiliciently to hold the strip firmly in position. At the same time the construction described permitsthe strip 40 and4 its ribs di to beadjusted pr slid forwardly or rearwardly upon or relativelyto the base member, thus 'affording accommodation for different sizes of/dishes, and aiord's ready means for attachingthe strip to or removing the saine from the rack. A-similar but somewhat narrower ilexible rubber strip ,45 -provided with spaced ribs or y projections 46 is adjustably secured upon the Y upright member 41 of the dish rack, for similarly accommodating dishes o'f `different sizes.

A still less expensive way of providing the adjustable feature of the dish rack is illustrated' in 75 Fig. a.` In taie` 'construction' o. rubber strip un having'integral spaced ribs or projections 5I, as

t before, is formed without the integral attaching `portions 42 of Figs. 6 and 7, `the free end -edges j 52 of this strip being secured by springlike metal clips 53 as shown. Obviously, the strips in this case Vcan be adjusted lupon the base members and Y upright members respectively of the dish racks,

as in the vpreviously described construction.

In order to"meetthe possibledemaridfor a still cheaper arrangement, the rubber strips, instead of being attached to a portable metal or otherisupport,as described, may, yif desired, be -`secure`.d:asbyl suction cups, or otherwise, directly to the top face of va shelf `and to an adjacentupright wall or Vsurface respectively. v Aplate rack constructed as describedfis relatively simple, consists `of'few parts and can be manufactured at low cost., The sheet metal of which the base and back members are formed can b e easily and quickly bent into shape, and the rubber or other sheets together with' the yield- Aing projections thereon, 'can be moulded to the desired form .and easily applied in the various ways explained. The use of a plate rack having the yielding cushioning sheets and ribs of rubber or the like enables the dishes to be placed upon or removed from the rack with almost no noisem and since the dishes are held out. of contactl with one another, no rattling or marring of the dishes is possible while they are on the rack. I claim as my invention: l

-1. A-dish rack comprising an' approximately horizontal base member and an upright back member secured together to form a unitary structure, said members having upon their mutually mounting said groups of 'elements in mutually facing, relatively. fixed," angular relation, whereby a dishmay be supportedmn said rack inupright position with a marginal portion `thereoft engagingbetween elements of one group and another marginal portion' engaging between `tele- `ments, of the other groupsaid dish rack being unobstructed at thefront-thereof to permit dishes to be removed therefrom in a substantially horizontal direction, -and means for counteracting f the tendency of dishes to roll forwardly out of engagement with said projecting elements.

3. A dish rack comprising a flat base member, a.

flat upright backn member connectedto the back edge Athereof to form a dihedron, a. groupl of `f A spaced resilient projecting elements. on each of said members 'forming mhutually facing and'- alned channels for ,receiving -the edge portions of dishes placed crosswise of, said rack to support "themin spaced uprightepositionthereon, and said base member having at its iront edgev a depending ilange' engageable with a supporting surface ,to maintain thebase member in a rearx wardlyjnclined position`with the dihedral angle of the rack resting upon said surfaqo,whereby Ithe dishes 4resting inthe channelsf 'said base member-will have a tendency to roll rearwardly l 75 and be maintained in their intended positions entively to said wall member. i

gaging in lthe channels of said back member, and can be removed from said rack; by drawing them forward in la substantially horizontal direction.-

4. Adish rack formed of-'a'sii'igle'v rectangular piece of sheet metal bent along a straight line between two parallel edges thereof to form a dihedron with al substantially horizontal base memberand an upright lback member separated by the dihedral angle,` and said base member and said back member having thereon mutually facing groups of yielding projections between which edge portions of 'dishes may be positioned.

5. A dish rack formedpf a single rectangular piece of ysheet metal ben't 'along a straight line between two parallel edges thereof to form a dihedron with a substantially horizontal base member and an upright back member separated by the dihedral angle, said base member and said back member having thereon mutually facing groups of yielding projections between whichv edge portions of dishes may be positioned, and

of which is parallel to the dihedral angle bent to form a depending flange, the edge of which is rsaid base member'having that edge portion thereengageable with a supporting vsurface to thereby support the base member ina rearwardly inclined position with the dihedral angle'also engaging saidsurface.

6. A dish rack comprising twoangularly disposed w'all members each having upon the face' thereof which is' ymutually opposed to that of the other member a sheet of resilientmaterial, each sheet having spaced parallel ribs integrally formed 'thereon and which are disposed in alinement with the ribs lon the vother sheet, thereby forming channels'for thezreception ofA the edge portions of dishes placed in upright position crosswise of said rack, Iand means for detachabiy and adjustably securing each sheet of resilient material to its supporting wall member, comprisixig mutually facing integral channel-like 'portions at opposed end edges of said sheet which are formed to engage over the adjacent end edges of said wall member and which` detachably holds said sheet in place and .enables the same to be slid upon said wall member to different operative positions.

'7. A dish rack comprising two angularly disl posed walli members each having upon the face thereof which is mutually opposed to, that of the other member a sheet of resilientm'aterial, each ,formed thereon and whichfare disposed in alinenient with the ribs on the othersneet, thereby forming channelsfor the-reception of the edge portions of dishes ,placed in upright/position crosswise of said rack, each of -said sheets having opposite free edges adjacentandfparallel to the end edges ofv its supporting wall member,` and a clip releasably embracinge'ach o fsaid free edges vsheet having spaced parallels' ribs" integrally andthe corresponding end edge of .said .wall member for'detachably securing said;sheet ,inf place and permitting it to beadjusted upon and rela- 8; Adish rack having a rigid l right back member and a substantially horizontal 4base member and havingI an open front ,through which dishes'maybe inserted and removed in a substantially horizontal direction, and two groups of yielding, spaced, parallel ribs secured .to said base and said back,the ribs o f one. group being approximatelyfinalinementv with the ribs of the otherv group to support dishes with theirmarginal portionsI arranged between` ribs, at least one ot substantially up- -said groups engagingl marginal portions of the dishes at points suiicientlv far apart to hold the dishes substantially perpendicularly to said base and back,.and means foryieldinglyurgingsaid dishes toward engagement with the ribs of said back.

e. A dish rack haingarigid substantially upright back member and a substantially horizontal base member and having an open `front ribs of theother group to support dishes with their marginal portions arranged between ribs,A said base having a slight downwardinclination toward said back, .to counteract the tendency oi dishesto roll out of engagement with the' ribs of said back.

10. A dish rati:4 having a rigid substantiallyl uprightlback member and 'a `substantially horizontal base member and having an open frontl .through which ,dishes may be inserted and re,

moved in a substantially horizontal direction, and two groups of yielding, spaced, parallel ribs secured to said base and said back, the` ribs of one group being approximately in alinement With the ribs of the other group to support dishes with their marginal portions arranged between ribs, and means for adjusting at least one of said groups of ribs relatively to its member iri/ a direction toward and'from the other group to accom- 15 modate said rackto hold dishes of different sizes. 

